Dumbing Down & Dressing Down: The New Cunard?

[WantedOnVoyage]

We are booked (and did so the moment it was released) QUEEN MARY 2's 11 January 2025 35-day West Indies cruise from Southampton, having done the same, but slightly shorter version in 2023.  

 

This 35-day voyage has no fewer than 21 full days at sea and and two six-day at sea segments.

 

And according to the calendar this 35-day cruise has precisely FIVE formal or gala evenings. Five.  So that's fewer than one a week and wholly at odds with what Cunard even purports as an average (two a week) in their website. 

 

I immediately contacted Cunard about this and received the following response:

 

Thank you for your email.  I am sorry that the changes we've made to the scheduling of our Gala/Formal nights has affected your voyage and your perception of Cunard Line in a negative way.

 

Please know that I fully understand and appreciate your point of view and actually share it.  I will forward your comments to my superiors on your behalf.

Your Diamond level status, loyalty, and views are greatly appreciated. 

 

My best wishes, and welcome back,

 

You will note the bolded comment.  So it appears that Cunard is indeed continuing on its relentless dumbing down of its core product and indeed reducing the number of gala nights, although possibly not to the extremes of this particular voyage. 

 

This seems to be the onset of a new "Hey Guys... Era" at Cunard.

[Pushpit]

To be fair, in the wider world, having FIVE gala nights over 5 weeks is probably not considered to be dumbing down in the great scheme of things. I'm sure it will work out wonderfully for all concerned. And naturally you and your companion can make EVERY night a gala night if you wish.

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

To be fair, in the wider world, having FIVE gala nights over 5 weeks is probably not considered to be dumbing down in the great scheme of things. I'm sure it will work out wonderfully for all concerned. And naturally you and your companion can make EVERY night a gala night if you wish.

and also, to be fair, if such a Gala schedule offends, there seems to be the option to cancel the cruise without penalty for our US friends.

 

 

[Pear Carr]

We were surprised that there are only 3 gala nights on our upcoming 14 night cruise to Scotland and Iceland 14/7-28/7.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

It’s so easy, though, to just dress up every single night if that appeals. Of COURSE we’d rather not be seated next to somebody with backwards baseball caps and cargo shorts for dinner. That’s why we go with Cunard. It just doesn’t happen. I understand your frustration , to an extent, but we are all in control of what we do. We just dress up every night to balance all the days of grubbing in the soil of our gardens.

[3rdGenCunarder]

46 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

To be fair, in the wider world, having FIVE gala nights over 5 weeks is probably not considered to be dumbing down in the great scheme of things. I'm sure it will work out wonderfully for all concerned. And naturally you and your companion can make EVERY night a gala night if you wish.

 

It's dumbing down to those of us who have sailed Cunard for a long time and enjoyed a greater number of formal nights. Yes, I can dress up all I want. But there's an ambiance when everyone (or most everyone) is dressed up. I do dress above the minimum every evening. Not formal, but better than what Cunard describes for the casual nights.

 

I know, I know, those of us who have sailed Cunard for a long time are getting older, and cruise lines don't seem to give a rat's about what we think in their quest to attract younger cruisers.

[bluemarble]

38 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

... And according to the calendar this 35-day cruise has precisely FIVE formal or gala evenings. Five.  So that's fewer than one a week and wholly at odds with what Cunard even purports as an average (two a week) in their website. ...

 

Just to clarify, the Cunard website does not actually state there will be an average of two Gala Evenings per week. What they do state is "At least twice on each seven-night voyage we’ll host a Gala Evening, where we do ask that you observe an elevated dress code."

 

Now I appreciate it's a subtle distinction, but all they've committed to for the past few years is that there will be two Gala Evenings on any voyage of 7 nights or more. For the past several years, most voyages of 14 nights have had only three Gala Evenings scheduled. The exceptions are voyages such as round trip crossings and QV's Mediterranean cruises where 14 (and 21) night itineraries are also sold as individual 7 night itineraries. In those cases there will indeed be two Gala Evenings on each 7 night segment.

 

A similar situation to your 35 night cruise occurred in January 2022 when a 28 night Caribbean cruise on QM2 only had four Gala Evenings.

 

I'm on board QM2 at the moment so I don't have the stats in front of me from the Cunard Dress Code and Theme Schedule documents I've compiled since the restart of operations. But as best I recall, the stats across the fleet indicate there are an average of about 1.7 Gala Evenings scheduled per week during 2024 which is generally in line with the figures for the other years since 2021.

 

As more of the 2025 dress code and theme schedules become available, I will most definitely be looking for trends indicating whether Cunard are indeed lowering the number of Gala Evenings overall during 2025.

[BklynBoy8]

10 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

As more of the 2025 dress code and theme schedules become available, I will most definitely be looking for trends indicating whether Cunard are indeed lowering the number of Gala Evenings overall during 2025.

 

As @3rdGenCunarder mentioned in her posting, we too agree with the suggested Dress Code of the Cunard Line. Our history goes back to the Chandris Line and now with the Cunard Line which is what attracted us to sail with them for the properness and elegance of the experience.

 

In March of 2025 we will be sailing again another 14 days voyage which is due to heading to the Caribbean which we are counting the days and looking forward to repeating again after a Long...Long time.

 

We (my DW and I) personally look forward to the Dress Code which use to be Formal and Informal in terminology. I personally don't mind looking forward to taking that extra time to prepare for After 6 Gala Evenings.

 

The one thing that is part of this subject which we hope will be upgraded on our sailing are the number of Gala Evenings. We are scheduled at this time to ONLY have 2 Galas for the total 14 days. Disappointed, YES! I personally am looking forward to the number being possibly up'ed and enjoying more.

 

We really don't understand why only 2 for 14 days. True we are landing after a three day sailing down from the Big Apple but maybe which I don't understand. We will be landing 7 times day after day at a Caribbean Island? But returning with a another three days returning home NYC.

 

Couldn't additional Gala's even with a Tropical Theme happen like we use to experience on the QE2.

 

To be continued...... 

[WantedOnVoyage]

Appreciate, too, that a "Gala Night" does not solely (or least did not in the past) imply just an "elevated dress code" but also an enhanced menu (in all restaurants) and entertainment.  So by removing gala evenings, they effect other cutbacks and the dumbing down is relentless.  We are booked (for now) in Queen's Grill so the menu aspects are not a concern but those in Britannia complaining about no lobster and little if any escargot etc. might consider that the thin edge of the wedge going forward.  

 

As for Cunard's intentions, I refer you to the bolded part of their reply which certainly suggests this is not a one-off but a new policy going into 2025.

 

And yes... some of us have been sailing with Cunard for rather longer than most on this board I suspect and naturally resist the continued dimunition of "our" line more than newcomers might. 

[Summergee]

Currently there are 4 gala nights listed for our QA voyage in September. Our last cruise, pre Covid, only had 3.

We have been on one cruise which had 4 gala nights but was reduced to 3 once on board. As the other ladies on our table had also taken 4 outfits we had our own extra dress up night. Our waiter was rather rude about us dressing up but that was dealt with.

[Victoria2]

And yes... some of us have been sailing with Cunard for rather longer than most on this board I suspect and naturally resist the continued dimunition of "our" line more than newcomers might. 

 

and I am most definitely a newbie in terms of decades of Cunard experience. To me, as a non Cunarder and relative newbie, it seems to me the powers  that be have decided Cunard needs to change a bit for the times we are now living in and if the tweaks mean the line is still around for the next twenty odd years, I hope I too can become part of the furniture and that sits well with me.

[exlondoner]

14 minutes ago, Summergee said:

Currently there are 4 gala nights listed for our QA voyage in September. Our last cruise, pre Covid, only had 3.

We have been on one cruise which had 4 gala nights but was reduced to 3 once on board. As the other ladies on our table had also taken 4 outfits we had our own extra dress up night. Our waiter was rather rude about us dressing up but that was dealt with.

I thought it was part of the job description of waiters not to be rude about anything, even where justified, which was clearly not the case.

[WantedOnVoyage]

Or, you might find Cunard is, in 20 years, no different from Princess, Holland America or RCCL, too. So who cares if they "survive"... as what? 

[foodsvcmgr]

It will be interesting to see the dress code/formal night situation on QE’s Caribbean series in 2026.

For packing purposes reducing formal nights only creates the need for more clothes, when bringing the tux I’d rather use it four times than two let’s say.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Or, you might find Cunard is, in 20 years, no different from Princess, Holland America or RCCL, too. So who cares if they "survive"... as what? 

It is surely likely to continue to enhance Carnival’s profits to ensure its constituents continue to be subtly differentiated to appeal to different types of passenger. There is no point have a dozen identical lines. Incidentally when Cunard owned the Sea Goddesses did they have formal nights on those?

[Pushpit]

26 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

And yes... some of us have been sailing with Cunard for rather longer than most on this board I suspect and naturally resist the continued dimunition of "our" line more than newcomers might. 

I go back to RMS Carinthia, Liverpool to Montréal, as my first Crossing a scary number of years ago, so I'm not exactly a newbie, but I am not sure I would go along with a logic that we all naturally resist change and adaptation. In a sense I would quite like to go back to the QE2 days where almost every night was formal. And in those days the code was enforced somewhat ruthlessly.

 

But I also see the point of making it "special" by being less regular and it's great to see the youngsters usually completely going for it, and with more enthusiasm than "oh we have to dress up to eat" when it was a daily affair. It's remarkable that Cunard is still with us, on many levels, and the Line would only be able to do that by adapting and embracing change. As have all longstanding institutions in good health, from the monarchy downwards. People who book Cunard knowing it's not just another floating barge appealing to the lowest denominator.

Edited Thursday at 07:51 PM by Pushpit

[Summergee]

Exlondoner, that was just the final straw. After that I put all of the little incidents to the Maitre'd we never saw our original waiter again. 

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Summergee said:

Exlondoner, that was just the final straw. After that I put all of the little incidents to the Maitre'd we never saw our original waiter again. 

I don’t blame you. More training clearly needed, at the least.

[Victoria2]

16 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Or, you might find Cunard is, in 20 years, no different from Princess, Holland America or RCCL, too. So who cares if they "survive"... as what? 

I care, we care as we've found a way of holidaying into our older age which requires very little effort other than to pack a couple of cases and transfer to Southampton for a, what to us, is a luxurious break for a couple of weeks.

Yes there are and will be more tweaks but if the hardware is still the same and the staff as delightful as ever, we can put up with the tweaks.

 

It will be interesting to see if those who rail against the tweaks, still continue to holiday with Cunard in the coming years.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Victoria2 said:

I care, we care as we've found a way of holidaying into our older age which requires very little effort other than to pack a couple of cases and transfer to Southampton for a, what to us, is a luxurious break for a couple of weeks.

Yes there are and will be more tweaks but if the hardware is still the same and the staff as delightful as ever, we can put up with the tweaks.

 

It will be interesting to see if those who rail against the tweaks, still continue to holiday with Cunard in the coming years.

Well, they’ve survived converting from coal to oil, abolishing the different classes (though other lines seem to be reinventing them), installing bathrooms in all cabins,  giving lots of cabins balconies, having fully enclosed bridges (which QE2 didn’t), more or less banning smoking, no longer having cabins shared with strangers, and who knows what other updating, so I expect it will be fine.

[BklynBoy8]

11 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I care, we care as we've found a way of holidaying into our older age which requires very little effort other than to pack a couple of cases .............is a luxurious break.........

 

Yes there are and will be more tweaks but if the hardware is still the same and the staff as delightful as ever, we can put up with the tweaks..

 

Total Agree!

 

Watching the style of ships sailing out of NY Harbor under the bridge now a days is shocking. So glad we don't get to see Mega ships that come out of the Ports in the south that look like part of Manhattan Apartment Complexes ex. Starrett or Tudor Cities.

 

So large and so..so many passengers (people) on board unbelievable. And the way the "hardware" looks and contains in the form of activities too too many to mention.

 

Talking to my DW recently, will there be a day went land base vacations take the place of cruising with dissatisfaction with the choice of vessels.

[Pushpit]

18 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 and who knows what other updating.

Smoking between courses - or even during courses - is not something I greatly miss.

[vieux_carre]

41 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

I go back to RMS Carinthia, Liverpool to Montréal, as my first Crossing a scary number of years ago

The first RMS Carinthia or the second?  Just trying to gauge how scary the number of years!  😉

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Carinthia_(1925)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Carinthia_(1955)

[Pushpit]

2 minutes ago, vieux_carre said:

The first RMS Carinthia or the second?  Just trying to gauge how scary the number of years!  😉

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Carinthia_(1925)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Carinthia_(1955)

The slightly less scary of those options - the ship where the crew kept going on strike mid voyage. 

[david,Mississauga]

53 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Or, you might find Cunard is, in 20 years, no different from Princess, Holland America or RCCL, too. So who cares if they "survive"... as what? 

 

Indeed, at some future time all Carnival-owned ships may be branded as Carnival Cruises. There have been complaints from Australia that the P&O ships will soon be Carnival Cruises ships, so this has started.

 

The dumbing down of the dress code has been relentless for many years.  On our last QE2 crossing, just months before the ship was retired to Dubai, the first and last night were still jacket & tie for gents in all restaurants and the four nights in between were formal.  That had not changed since our first QE2 crossing in 1973 - although five nights in those days - except that formal wear was not the tradition in Tourist Class (Britannia Restaurant) until the ship was reclassified as essentially one class with Grills.  In one way, the QM2 is more formal in that the Britannia Restaurant has gala nights.

 

Shortly before the pandemic we took a 14-day voyage from Québec to Southampton. There were five formal nights: two on the first segment and three on the Atlantic crossing.  We have booked the same routing in reverse for next year and  because it is segmented there should be two gala nights per week. I suppose that is as good as it gets.

 

As for the "smart" nights I refuse to dumb down my standards and I wear a jacket and tie every night and am pleased there are usually many others who do the same.  No, I do not look down my nose at those who don't. Cunard assured me in response to comments I made a few years ago: "The dress code is a minimum and you are free to dress as formally as you wish."